Indictment: Daytona chiropractor who sold pills made $350,000 in 2 years

LYDA LONGA, Staff writer

Thursday

Jun 28, 2012 at 12:01 AMAug 15, 2012 at 2:24 PM

A local chiropractor arrested and charged with health care fraud and prescribing pain medication without a license reaped more than $350,000 over a two-year period from the illegal activities, newly released federal documents show.

In addition, over a span of three years, FBI investigators say Daytona Beach chiropractor Joseph Wagner dispensed 2,609 pills using the identifications of "medical doctors," most notably Dr. John Peter Christensen of West Palm Beach, records show. The names of other doctors have never been provided by investigators.

Wagner was arrested in May before he could board a plane bound for the Dominican Republic, FBI investigators said. He was headed there with a one-way ticket and intentions of marrying a prostitute, authorities said.

Christensen, who has not been arrested or indicted, has repeatedly said he was unaware that Wagner used his Drug Enforcement Administration identification to prescribe painkillers.

But the indictment unsealed last week shows the cash Wagner collected from illegal prescriptions and fees leveled against insurance companies for treatments that were never rendered at Wagner's clinic were deposited into an account in Christensen's name. According to FBI investigators, Wagner later withdrew money from that account and deposited it in his own bank account.

The indictment also states that doctors whose names and DEA identifications were used by Wagner were aware of the chiropractor's activities.

Wagner's practice -- Wagner Chiropractic and Acupuncture Clinic on Ridgewood Avenue -- was raided in August 2011 by the FBI and other federal agencies. The agents were seeking any evidence that would show Wagner was prescribing controlled substances -- specifically Xanax and Lortab -- and defrauding insurance companies, according to a criminal complaint filed in May by FBI Special Agent John Groeschner Jr.

The FBI took over the query against Wagner in 2010 after the state's Department of Financial Services began receiving complaints from several private car insurance carriers over charges for medical and chiropractic services and treatments Wagner supposedly rendered to his patients -- mostly accident victims, the complaint shows. After interviewing the patients, their insurance companies learned the medical and chiropractic treatments had never occurred, the complaint states.

When the Department of Financial Services sent in an undercover detective to visit Wagner at his Daytona Beach clinic, the investigator verified the insurance companies' claims were valid, the complaint shows.

That's when the state turned its case over to the FBI in June 2010.

Once the FBI and other agencies launched their query, agents began gathering evidence supporting insurance fraud, health care fraud and illegal drug distribution, the complaint shows. Armed with that, the FBI was able to obtain a search warrant in August 2011.

Not only were patient records seized at the Daytona Beach clinic, but also financial and computer records. Wagner's financial records revealed he has a bank account in the Dominican Republic -- where he went to medical school -- with $76,800 in it. That's the equivalent of about $3 million pesos in that country, the complaint shows.

After the raid, state and federal investigators revealed Wagner was linked to Christensen. That relationship enabled Wagner to prescribe pain medications to his chiropractic patients, investigators said.

According to the FBI's complaint, the prescription pads Wagner used were pre-stamped and pre-signed using the names of doctors. Christensen's name appeared on some of the prescription bottles of Wagner's patients, investigators said.

State law prohibits chiropractors from prescribing medication. Christensen's license was suspended last August, but he has not been arrested in the case.

Wagner, who is considered a flight risk, remains in custody at the Orange County Jail.

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